Question involving becoming a lawyer

[lagalaxyfan23]

Hey guys! For any lawyers on the boards, (or anybody with knowledge about the subject, for that matter) does attending law school require a four-year undergraduate college degree?

In other words, if you take the LSAT and score well, can you go straight from high school to law school? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Zach23]

you have to have a degree theres a lot of pre law you have to have before entering. I have a friend that's in law school now

[natbornkiller]

there might be a law school entrance exam
lcat?

[lagalaxyfan23]

you have to have a degree theres a lot of pre law you have to have before entering. I have a friend that's in law school now

Thanks, but are you sure? I know that to enter into law school, majoring in Pre Law as an undergraduate is not a requirement.

there might be a law school entrance exam
lcat?

Yes the LSAT is the exam you take to submit to law schools :flex:

[Zach23]

I thought it was im not a law major myself but I don't think you can skip over that

[natbornkiller]

not a requirement but will be harder to get into law school with out it

[Gibberish]

Hey guys! For any lawyers on the boards, (or anybody with knowledge about the subject, for that matter) does attending law school require a four-year undergraduate college degree?

In other words, if you take the LSAT and score well, can you go straight from high school to law school? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Define score well
If you are talking 177-180, MAYBE...but it would limit who will take you if that is your desired path.

[Lockdown32]

From what I have read generally you need a ba in something to get in to law school. Like others have said if you have college credit you can still get in, but you will be going against others that have a degree so odds of you getting in are going to be hard. My sister is a lawyer and she went through the entire 7 years. 4 for the ba and 3 years of law school.

[George19]

Usually the schools who are not ABA accredited will not require a bachelor's degree for entrance, but what is the point of going there? Also, there are law schools that do NOT require the LSAT either, but what is the point?

I was going to pursue law school as I got my two Bachelor's degrees and scored 174 on the LSAT, but decided to pursue graduate degrees instead.

Good luck, but either way, pursue your BA/BS degree, score well on the LSAT, have fantastic LofR's and you will do fine...

G

[Andrew Jones]

If you want to go to an actual law school, you will need a 4 year degree.

[Sikkcaden]

Take as many theater classes as you can in college, especially if you plan on being a trial lawyer. Seriously.

[frozenntimesports]

Do not major solely in pre-law, if you decide you don't want to practice law that pre-law degree hurts. I double-majored in Social Science and History with a double-minor in Math and Economics. (FYI, SS, History & Econ had a lot of overlapping classes, I'm not a genius but I'm no dummy).

I'm employable with or without my law degree.

[sportscardbreak]

I'm on a similar path as you. Just started looking at schools as I'm currently a junior in HS and I plan on eventually attending Law School. I saw we were looking at similar schools for undergrad and I just thought I would put my 2 cents in. Although it is not a requirement, getting your bachelors degree is crucial if you want to practice law. You also won't be able to get into Penn, UChicago, etc., for law school if you don't get your bachelors. If money is an issue there are different routes but skipping out on a bachelors degree is just plain bad. A good suggestion would be looking into schools in the UK. I met with the rep from University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he informed me that you can get your law degree during your 4 years of undergrad with law as your sole major and the degree is valid in America. Plus the tuition is significantly cheaper there. I am planning on a double major in English and Journalism in preparation for law school. Good luck!

[frozenntimesports]

I'm on a similar path as you. Just started looking at schools as I'm currently a junior in HS and I plan on eventually attending Law School. I saw we were looking at similar schools for undergrad and I just thought I would put my 2 cents in. Although it is not a requirement, getting your bachelors degree is crucial if you want to practice law. You also won't be able to get into Penn, UChicago, etc., for law school if you don't get your bachelors. If money is an issue there are different routes but skipping out on a bachelors degree is just plain bad. A good suggestion would be looking into schools in the UK. I met with the rep from University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he informed me that you can get your law degree during your 4 years of undergrad with law as your sole major and the degree is valid in America. Plus the tuition is significantly cheaper there. I am planning on a double major in English and Journalism in preparation for law school. Good luck!

Get Some Math!!! Trust Me!!!

[Kona12]

Do not major solely in pre-law, if you decide you don't want to practice law that pre-law degree hurts. I double-majored in Social Science and History with a double-minor in Math and Economics. (FYI, SS, History & Econ had a lot of overlapping classes, I'm not a genius but I'm no dummy).

I'm employable with or without my law degree.

exactly!!!you do NOT need to be prelaw in undergrad in order to be admitted to law school. in my opinion, unless you are going to be a doctor, engineer/scientist and you plan on going to graduate school then your choice of undergrad major does not matter. i went art history and math with minor econ in undergrad then went to law school then got my cpa and mst and i am still relatively young (33).

point is...what you do in undergrad does not have a bearing on what your job will be after graduate school. (note that none of this applies if you are not going to graduate school).

[lagalaxyfan23]

I'm on a similar path as you. Just started looking at schools as I'm currently a junior in HS and I plan on eventually attending Law School. I saw we were looking at similar schools for undergrad and I just thought I would put my 2 cents in. Although it is not a requirement, getting your bachelors degree is crucial if you want to practice law. You also won't be able to get into Penn, UChicago, etc., for law school if you don't get your bachelors. If money is an issue there are different routes but skipping out on a bachelors degree is just plain bad. A good suggestion would be looking into schools in the UK. I met with the rep from University of Aberdeen in Scotland and he informed me that you can get your law degree during your 4 years of undergrad with law as your sole major and the degree is valid in America. Plus the tuition is significantly cheaper there. I am planning on a double major in English and Journalism in preparation for law school. Good luck!

Thanks man you too!

Guys, I appreciate all the help, but perhaps my question was worded a bit strangely haha. I am aware that it is foolish to undergrad in pre-law since it doesn't do much for you when applying to law schools. But what I was trying to ask is whether or not it is required to even get a bachelor's degree or go to undergraduate college. For example, straight out of high school can I just apply to a college's law school. That's kind of my question. :)!

[Whodatiz]

Get your undergraduate...especially if you are really thinking about going into law school. I've never heard of a legit law school not requiring a degree as part of the admissions process. The more credentials you have going in, the better. Always.

Thanks man you too!

Guys, I appreciate all the help, but perhaps my question was worded a bit strangely haha. I am aware that it is foolish to undergrad in pre-law since it doesn't do much for you when applying to law schools. But what I was trying to ask is whether or not it is required to even get a bachelor's degree or go to undergraduate college. For example, straight out of high school can I just apply to a college's law school. That's kind of my question. :)!

[lagalaxyfan23]

Bump because I keep hearing contradictory information :)

[56LightsOut56]

In California your not even required to be a US citizen for a law degree.....
Immigrant without green card can be a lawyer, California court rules - latimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-immigrant-lawyer-20140102,0,5639602.story#axzz2pR8PpNTV)

[ssbledsoe]

Usually the schools who are not ABA accredited will not require a bachelor's degree for entrance, but what is the point of going there? Also, there are law schools that do NOT require the LSAT either, but what is the point?

I was going to pursue law school as I got my two Bachelor's degrees and scored 174 on the LSAT, but decided to pursue graduate degrees instead.

Good luck, but either way, pursue your BA/BS degree, score well on the LSAT, have fantastic LofR's and you will do fine...

G

This. Enjoy college and don't be in a hurry to start your life. Shaving a year or so off your college career seems cute now, but it'll loom as a regret years from now when you think, "damn I wish I would have taken more time at Getting My Richard Wet College or University."
As stated above, any law school worth its salt isn't going to have shortcuts in it's program. Most employers aren't going to look at a candidate from Shortcut U when they have plenty of candidates from Traditional U.